Kershaw's No-Hitter Leads to POTW Award

The Texas native is only 26-years-old but he's building his Hall-of-Fame credentials with each start

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw only made one start last week, but it was one for the ages and good enough to earn him National League Player of the Week honors for the week ending June 22.

The left-hander was historically dominant in throwing the 22nd no-hitter in Dodgers history in an 8-0 win June 18 at Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw was a Hanley Ramirez error away from tossing a perfect game, but his final stat line was still pretty good. He didn't walk a batter and faced one batter over the minimum while striking out a career-high 15.

And, about the "one for the ages" part - the 26-year-old became the first pitcher in Major League history to strikeout 15 hitters without allowing a runner on base by either a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Kershaw also tied Warren Spahn for the most strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher who hurled a no-hitter.

Kershaw has rounded into Cy Young form since returning from a back injury that landed him on the disabled list earlier this season. He's now 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA and an average of 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

If you eliminate the un-Kershaw like seven runs he allowed in 1 2/3 innings May 17 in a start at Arizona, he's 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA. In other words, he'd be right in line for his second straight Cy Young Award.

We'll see what he has in store for an encore. Kershaw will take the mound Wednesday for the Dodgers in Kansas City.

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